5 Steps On How To Become A Music Producer

Nowadays, technology and access to information allows almost anyone to become a music producer. But in order to become a great music producer and make a career out of it, you need to be dedicated and get your name out there.

How do you do that? Follow the following 5 steps on how to become a music producer and you’ll have a great head start.

Step 1 – Select A Genre

I believe that every music producer should keep their mind and ears open to all genres, but focus their efforts on one. So if you’re an aspiring music producer, dedicate yourself to producing one genre of music but take inspiration from other genres.

Step 2 – Choose A DAW To Create Beats

If you’re completely new to music production, you would first need to learn how to use a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to lay out your music. You don’t need to know a lot about music theory and how to play instruments in order to make music, but it definitely helps.

Using highly professional DAW’s such as Cubase and Pro Tools will confuse any beginner, so I would recommend that you to start off with a more user-friendly software such as Fruity Loops Studio which also allows for advancement onto a higher level. Then afterwards, you can advance onto the more expensive and premium DAWs when you’re ready or if you want to.

Step 3 – Learn How To Mix & Master

Mixing and mastering a track is directly linked to making beats, but it’s a different topic because it doesn’t actually involve the creative aspects of music.

Instead, this is the complex part where you must adjust all the elements of your song to get it to sound flawless. Things such as adjusting the volume of each instrument, panning sounds to the left or right and how much by and pitch of the sounds are just a few factors of mixing and mastering. These adjustments require a good set of studio monitor speakers or studio headphones so all the subtle details can be heard.

It’s not as exciting as making the drum loops and melodies, but it’s an essential part nonetheless. It’s possible to pay someone to master your track for you, but it’s very costly and all the information is available to you on the Internet anyway.

Step 4 – Market Your Music

One thing that a successful music producer needs is exposure, and there’s no exposure without marketing. First of all, you need a nice looking website that presents yourself and your music.

If your goal is to be picked up by a record label, then you’d probably only want a website for exposure. Take to social media to generate a buzz around your brand. The most effective for music producers are Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Reddit. Be clever in the way you market yourself.

Step 5 – Do Your Networking

Networking is a must if you really want to hit the big time. Get in touch with as many record labels and independent/major artists as possible and market your music to them directly. But make sure that you come well prepared in your approach, because your job is to sell yourself and your music to them.

Once you make that initial contact and it happens to be a lead, then make sure you follow up and establish a relationship with them. The most successful producers build strong and long-lasting relationships with whoever they work with.

Be persistent because record labels and popular music artists are bombarded everyday with so many requests that no matter how good your stuff is, it’ll just got lost in the rubble. If you want motivation and reality, read about what other music producers such as Kanye West, Skrillex, Dr. Dre and The Alchemist had to do to get their big break.

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If you want to start making beats or become successful at it, then you're going to need some great music production equipment to enhance your skills. Take a look at the following: